Politics

• Tuesday, January 15th 2013 - 06:43 UTC

  Preparations to mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Falkland Islands

  

  At the invitation of Mensun Bound, some twenty-five people, including three members of the Falklands elected Legislative Council met to consider ways in which the one hundredth anniversary of the Battle of the Falkland Islands should be marked, when it falls on December 8, 2014.

• Tuesday, January 15th 2013 - 02:57 UTC

  UK considers “highly unlikely” Argentine invasion of the Falklands but is taking no chances

  

  The British government considers ‘highly unlikely’ Argentina will attempt to invade the Falkland Islands, according to Defense Minister Andrew Robathan. But the UK is prepared for any outside contingency that might want to interfere with the March referendum on the Falklands’ future.

• Tuesday, January 15th 2013 - 02:54 UTC

  Brazil insists with fresh election in Venezuela if Chavez dies, according to Reuters

  

  According to a report from Reuters, Brazil is urging Venezuela's government to hold elections as quickly as possible if President Hugo Chavez dies, which in that case would help a smoother leadership transition in Caracas.

• Tuesday, January 15th 2013 - 02:06 UTC

  Argentina’s inflation in 2012 climbed to 25.6% according to private agencies

  

  The 2012 twelve-month inflation in Argentina climbed to 25.6%, two times the figures registered by the official data from stats office Indec, according to the index presented by opposition lawmakers based in the analysis of nine private agencies.

• Tuesday, January 15th 2013 - 02:03 UTC

  Colombia wants to step up peace negotiations but FARC dragging their feet

  

  Representatives of the Colombian government and Marxist-led FARC rebels reconvened in Havana Monday for a third round of peace talks that the administration of President Juan Manuel Santos says need to start moving faster.

• Monday, January 14th 2013 - 06:58 UTC

  Chavez health ‘improving’; top Venezuelan officials meet in Havana with Raul Castro

  

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's lung infection has been controlled and his medical state is improving, the government announced on Sunday while four of the most powerful figures gathered in Havana allegedly to report to the cancer-stricken leader and meet with Cuban allies.

• Monday, January 14th 2013 - 06:49 UTC

  UK contingency plans to ensure no outside disruptions of Falklands’ March referendum

  

  The United Kingdom defence chiefs have drawn up new contingency plans designed to prevent hostile action by Argentina towards the Falkland Islands, ahead, during or after the March referendum, according to reports presented by English newspaper The Telegraph.

• Monday, January 14th 2013 - 06:38 UTC

  Major victory for President Morales: UN accepts “coca leaf chewing” in Bolivia

  

  Bolivia will again belong to the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs after its bid to rejoin with a reservation that it does not accept the treaty’s requirement that “coca leaf chewing must be banned” was successful Friday. Opponents needed one-third of the 184 signatory countries to object, but fell far, far short despite objections by the US and the International Narcotics Control Board.

• Monday, January 14th 2013 - 06:20 UTC

  Twenty million US children, one in four, received food stamps in 2011

  

  One in four children in the United States participated in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, in fiscal year 2011, according to data from the United States Department of Agriculture and US Census Bureau.

• Monday, January 14th 2013 - 04:02 UTC

  Argentine government ‘dollar clamp’ suffers another court defeat

  

  A court in the Argentine province of Cordoba ordered the Banco Nación to sell US dollars to a teacher, after she was authorized by AFIP tax agency to purchase Brazilian Reais, but could not do so due to lack of currency.